The Confidence of A Woman

Understanding you are made in His image

As I was making my way to bed last night, I caught something on tv that got my attention. It was a debate about a famous actress. Although I don’t agree with the values of this woman, I admire the confidence she carries as a larger woman. Which sparked a conversation with my husband and I while we were watching it. My thought was, if there could be more people or women out there with her confidence, and then we wouldn’t have so many insecure women in this world. This in turn would bring about stronger women in the future. Throughout my life, I used to think that the only thing that was going to create confidence in me would be if I lost tons of weight and bought all new clothes to make me look hot, because hot is what its all about, right?  Hot, beautiful women are all over the tv and magazines. This is what we are being told we should look like as women. Then you sit back and watch a one on one talk show with some of these small and hot women talking about their own insecurities.

 

These are gorgeous, petite, rich women who seemed to have it all and yet, they had just as many as insecurities as you or I would. Some of them have even spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to feel better. To no avail, so I began talking with God and said, Lord, we need more confident women in this world, we need strong virtuous women who are secure in them selves to be the example of what women should really believe about herself. We need positive confident role models of all sizes, of all colors, of all nationalities, and at all income levels. God began tugging at my heart saying, your confidence is in me, not in the world. Which led me to 1 John 2:15-17:  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."

 

Our confidence needs to be in the one who created us as women. God makes no mistakes. My being confident or wanting to be is not arrogance, but it’s in the fact of knowing that God created me for His purpose. So if I’m here, then I’m here because He called me here. There is a very special person in my life that spends her days as a nurse. This woman was promoted several times since she became a nurse, because she’s great at what she does, and she’s confident about her work. Some people would even take her knowledge as arrogance. Why can’t we as women just be confident without being accused of being arrogant? We need more women with that kind of confidence. How many times does the bible talk about the greatness and strength of a woman? Let’s look at the book of judges, where it talks about the prophetess and judge Deborah. Where she clearly obeyed the commands of God despite the fact that the church basically disowned her because they felt she was doing the work of a man. Remember back then only men could be heard and a woman was to be silent. Still Deborah continued in confidence knowing she was called by God to give His orders and speak His words. She became known as the Mother of Israel. In the book of Luke, Elizabeth was considered righteous before God. Her name meant Oath of God. How about Hannah, who couldn’t bare a child until she was older, but throughout the years despite her desires, she remained faithful and confident that God was going to bless her and He did. We also have Ruth whose name meant A Virtuous Woman. This was a woman of Loyalty. She was a woman who followed her Mother in Law to a strange place to serve the God of Israel.  My point is, there are many women in the past and present that walk in confidence.

 

We as women need to be more confident in who God called us to be. I used to think all I am is a mom, big deal, that’s not this great thing in the eyes of God. It’s a wonderful thing in the eyes of God. If you raise your child to be a God fearing Christian, and that child grows up to be a minister or a youth leader or whatever God called them to be, and they end up bringing hundreds to Christ, then know that you are the one through the obedience of God who raised them to be able to accomplish that. We are not all going to be mothers, nurses, doctors, attorneys, preachers, teachers, but there is a little bit of those in each one of us. The question is, do you love yourself enough to find the confidence in you? Once you find it, learn how to pour it out on our young women and teenagers, so they grow to be confident women. If many of you knew my background, where I came from, choices I have made in my life that were not for the good. The only thing I accomplished in my past was failing at everything I attempted. But God…Now even though I may fail at times, I get back up again. I put my faith in The One I know will guide me through. There will never again be another day when I will allow anyone, past or present, tell me I’m not who God called me to be. Romans 8:28 and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

 

In order to secure your confidence as a woman, then our attitudes and personalities have to be given over and created by what God has called for us, not what we want out of this world.  Allow yourselves to be loved by God, to be shown how beautiful He has made you. You were made perfect in His image. Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Allow yourself to see yourself through the eyes of God and not the eyes of man. People in general will always want you to be something your not, but God will give you everything you need to be who he called you to be. His word promises to supply our every need to live according to His purpose. Phil 4:19 and my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So if His words are true and we know he’s going to make a way, why not be secure in it? So think about it, if we are completely confident in Christ, then we are confident in the world, because although we are in the world, we are not of this world. Colossians 3:1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

 

We are prizes to God; we could never fathom how much He loves us, so let’s start walking in confidence knowing God made no mistakes when He made us. Let’s stop spending so much time being jealous of what others do, or what others have. If we start to put all that effort into what he’s called for us to do as individuals then imagine how much  as women we can accomplish.

 

So let’s begin a new day every day telling some other woman or young lady how beautiful and important they are to the kingdom of God. So if you’re reading this then I’m also speaking to you. What you do in life is important, weather it be a nurse, a mom, a missionary, a servant to others, a sister, a friend, it is  all so very important. So use it for His purpose, be proud of who you are and walk in confidence.